As anticipated, Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) inheritance got a little bit more complex early this morning, with Nokia Oyj. (HEX:NOK1V) unveiling a series of budget devices based on a forked version of Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system. The devices -- the Nokia X, XR, and X+ -- imitate the look of the Windows Phone, while using a mix of Nokia, Microsoft, and third-party software.

I. Mean the Window Ph... Er "Androids"

The budget devices are priced at €89, €99, and €109 respectively (roughly $120, $135, and $150 USD before taxes and subsidies). The X is the base model, while the XR adds more memory and the X+ adds a bigger screen.

Developed under the codename "Normandy", these modified Android smartphones answer a key dilemma of how to insert Windows Phone into low-end devices. Much of Nokia's sales in developing markets such as China, Indonesia, India, and Brazil are still feature phones.

Previously, devices at this price point were branded under the Asha lineup and exclusively used S40 (Series40), a derivative of the Symbian operating system. Asha isn't going anywhere; Nokia is looking to supplement it with and Android "cross-over point", Nokia X. Nokia X will serve as a set of training wheels accustoming buyers on the cusp of mid-tier Windows Phone offerings to get accustomed to the look of and some of the services of the platform via an Android clone.

Lumia continues to be our primary smartphone strategy. Lumia is where we will continue to introduce the greatest innovation.

[However] we see the X family being complementary to (Windows Phone) Lumia at lower price points. Even as you see Lumia push lower and lower, you will see us push lower with Nokia X below that.

There's quite a lot of vendors ... who made the Android decision but couldn't differentiate. We wanted to build with Microsoft a third ecosystem, and that's what we are doing while others fall by the wayside.

The new smartphones come in six of Nokia's iconic colorful body designs.

Nokia Product Marketing Vice President Jussi Nevanlinna said the new approach will allow Nokia to bring popular apps to its budget lineup with greater ease, commenting toReuters:

Our fans oftentimes tell us 'We love your hardware, we love your products, but we also love our Android apps'. Can you make something happen so the Android apps magically run here?

Roughly 75 percent of Android apps will run without trouble and can simply be resubmitted as is to the new Nokia-branded Android app store. As for the 25 percent that don't, most are currently tied to Google's proprietary APIs -- such as location-services, multi-player gaming services, or internet browsing. Nokia is also working to provide API support to allow easy porting of these apps.

Given the pending acquisition, Microsoft presumably is onboard with the plan, which would mean that when it acquires the Nokia Devices unit it would find itself in the odd position of selling Android smartphones.

II. Series 30, 40 Symbian OS Still Alive on the Ultra-Budget End

Microsoft's lineup will also continue to consist of Nokia Symbian devices on the low end. Alongside the new Android-based Nokia smartphones, the company also announced a pair of Symbian handsets. The lower end Nokia 220 runs S30 and priced at €29 (~$40 USD) before taxes and subsidies.

Both the Nokia 220 and 230 use compressed browser technology similar to the technology pioneered by Norway's Opera Software ASA (STO:OPERAO). There's a bit of Microsoft touch via the integrated Bing search. Twitter Inc. (TWTR) and Facebook Inc. (FB) apps are preloaded onto each budget device.

As for Nokia, it gains a source of revenue via the HERE location service (which Microsoft pays Nokia for) and app store (which is free, but which revenue shares between app developers and Nokia). Nokia has promised not to build a new phone unit to compete with Microsoft. However, revenue from services on the Nokia X and similar devices -- along from the $5-10 USD in patent licensing fees it pockets for nearly every Android device sold -- could give Nokia a cash pile to reenter the market as a competitor to Microsoft in 2016.

If Nokia launches a pure Android lineup in 2016, it could be a dangerous foe to current Android device makers. As Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KRX:005935) (KRX:005930) and other smartphone makers are encumbered by an estimated $15-30 USD in patent licensing fees per device, Nokia's devices could quickly match such experienced rivals in profit margins. Nokia owns long-term licensing pacts with Samsung and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) (who make regular payments to Nokia for the patents) -- plus a long-term licensing deal with Microsoft which is thought to be royalty free.

Android is 100% open source the problem here is you think Google apps and services are part of Android when they never were. Android is the base OS and some base apps and that is all, those things are open source and usable in any way you want but the Google Services require working with Google and around their rules since they created it. That doesn't make Android less open sourced at all. You seem to think like the people who were upset at Google when they stopped Acer from releasing that phone with Aliyun even though Acer was violating the rules of the OHA agreement. Not being able to separate the difference between Android and Google doesn't make Android any less open source.

quote: Android is 100% open source the problem here is you think Google apps and services are part of Android when they never were.

Except this isn't the case when Android first started having any market presence. AOSP back then meant everything but the fuel needed to run the car. These days AOSP means getting only 4 wheels and a baseplate.

Is Google updating the bits that make the car run without vendor-specific parts? No. That makes Google's claims of supporting "open source" look like a bunch of baloney and hot air.

Alright then, since you think I'm so wrong, how about I pull the rug from under your feet.

If an article talks about something related to Tesla, it's a virtual given that you're going to post something that attacks the integrity of Elon Musk, regardless of its merits. That's why many of your posts on that topic get downranked to oblivion.

If an article talks about something related to Google/Android, you're throwing your full weight in support of it - even when it's wrong.

You are mentally unable to take a level-headed rebuttal without treating it as a personal attack. Moreover - and this part is important - not only do you not digest the sources people give for their arguments, you also immediately shoot them down with virulent, abusive, inflammatory insults. Intelligent, reasoned, respectful : these are qualities conspiciously absent from your posts. You are literally the Mountain View version of Testerguy on these DT comment boards. You are worse than Tony Swash in regards to bias, and that's saying something.

I posted how the SGS5 is milking the cash cow instead of pushing the envelope. You immediately took it as a disparaging post from an Apple/iOS supporter who has never used a single Samsung phone, and proceeded to shut me down by claiming my "opinion doesn't count"... only to watch you reverse course and play nice after finding out that I'm actually using a SGS4. By then it's already too late, thanks to your setting the obnoxious, condescending tone with that insult.

You claim that I cannot be reasoned with, when you are doing just that with the argumentative, illogical and poisonous tone that leaks out of your posts like the coal ash spill from a TVA-operated coal power plant. Yet you demand a polite conversation from the rest of us, while coping with your bigoted behavior? Talk about hypocrisy - you are full of it.

Just because this is a conversation thread on the Internet doesn't mean you can act like an uneducated 9 year old idiot brandishing AR-15's on both hands. We don't play like that, sir, and we certainly do not appreciate your attitude around here.